Having attended an all-girls school for thirteen long years, there are many aspects of my former educational environment that I appreciate: a strong feeling of sisterhood among young women who collaborated together rather than competed; a sense of intellectual confidence, having never been exposed to the pseudo-psychological concept that females are somehow less capable of grasping certain academic subjects; and of course, the grit fostered by braving long winters in a finger-length plaid skirt.
Despite the definite virtues of being raised in an echo-chamber of Girl Power™, the somewhat archaic concept of single-sex education has been the subject of appropriate criticism. While most of us naturally maintained friendships and relationships with male friends from outside school, the segregated nature of our environment ultimately restrained us from viewing men as academic or professional peers. For me, there were many points at which it felt as though we were taught to view our male counterparts almost as “the enemy” or as inhibitors to our success, rather than as collaborative equals in the classroom or workplace. The discrimination and prejudice experienced by women in the workforce are very real, but isolating female students in effort to “empower” them can often strip them of opportunites to foster healthy and postive academic relationships with men.
The transition from an all-girls high school to a coed college isn’t an emotionally tumultuous passage for young women starved of male attention, as it is often portrayed; rather, it is an important period of adjustment and an opportunity to collaborate with and learn from our male peers. For me, one of the most important factors in my college search was diversity, the opportunity to connect with others with different experiences, worldviews, and backgrounds, both in and out of the classroom, as those of 50% of the world had been absent in my education for the last thirteen years. With the COVID pandemic limiting traditional classroom experiences, discussions and labs being restrained by the awkwardness of Zoom, and lectures being prerecorded, this necessary adjustment is difficult to embrace, and likely will be until some semblance of normalcy resumes. Until then, it’s up to us to challenge and question the narratives that have been fed to us, so as to not mentally remain in those plaid skirts.
Additionally, the restrictive nature of a single-sex school can potentially be a nightmare for transgender or non-binary students. Many of these individuals might rely on college as a safe haven to explore and embrace their identities, looking forward to an environment better for their mental wellbeing. For some, the inability to take advantage of a new environment due to COVID-19 restrictions could possibly take a major toll on their sense of self, if they can’t mentally move on from an environment where their external presentation as a “woman” may have possibly been reinforced to them.
The transition from high school to college can certainly be jarring for anyone; and transferring from a same-sex to coed environment is ultimately just another factor in this transition, as it may influence some more intensely than others. Naturally, the heavy restrictions put in place on campuses due to the COVID-19 pandemic will likely present a major obstacle, making this transition slightly less smooth. Nevertheless, growing up in an all-girls environment keeps you in a bubble that, like any other, will ultimately need to be popped. No matter how the transition affects you, that positive sense of sisterhood, whether or not you identify as a “sister,” hopefully remains— and it’s times like now where it’s important to look out for one another.